Blackwater: the months its manager gives for snow geese, the 2027 order suspension and directions to it.
The months are the site manager’s own, quoted and linked below with the day they were read.
Wintering species include tundra swans, Canada and snow geese, and more than 20 duck species.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The best time to view waterfowl is November through February.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
A pin takes a color only in the months the refuge or agency that runs it gives for snow geese. The shaded grid is where people have logged a verified snow or Ross’s goose on iNaturalist in October, in any year, brighter where more have been logged; it maps reports, so it thickens where observers stand.
Due back in NovemberMaryland, October
Snow geese are due back at Blackwater in November.
Waterfowl visitation is dominated by the presence of thousands of Canada geese, snow geese and tundra swans, with many remaining at the refuge throughout the winter months.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Snow Goose 13,600 12,500 16,100 40,200 29,900Maryland Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The population reached levels that caused degradation of sensitive Arctic tundra habitats due to overgrazing, as well as increasing amounts of agricultural damage on their wintering grounds in states like Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey (Lefebvre et al. 2017).Maryland Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
More reports come in February than in any other month. The bars combine every year on record; the twelve month figure runs from October 14, 2025.
119 research grade snow and Ross’s goose reports from Maryland in the twelve months to October 14, 2026.
Reading this month’s reports from iNaturalist.
The spring conservation order is suspended for 2027.
Maryland and the other states in the Atlantic Flyway, a major bird migration route on the East Coast, have elected to pause the Light Goose Conservation Order for the 2026-2027 hunting season.Maryland Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The Conservation Order has been suspended for 2027 after agreement from the eight participating hunt states, Quebec and Ontario.Maryland Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The states it covers, in the notice’s words: “As of 2026, eight states in the Atlantic Flyway held the Conservation Order including Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.”
Check the state’s own regulations before you go: permits, zones and dates are the agency’s to set.
Every fact about Maryland’s snow geese links to the refuge, agency or festival page it comes from, read on October 13, 2026. Tour routes and viewing areas close for weather, hunts and work, so check the site’s own page before you drive. Report tallies are iNaturalist research grade records of snow and Ross’s geese, which count sightings, not birds. Every state is on the snow goose migration hub.